Planning ensures that your goals are met.
Risk Management protects your assets.
Portfolios are built with Modern Portfolio Theory.
BEST CHOICES
~ Minimizing Ordinary Income, Capital Gains and other taxes for family, friends and charities?
~ How to invest in an Employer's Defined Benefit (pension) and/or Defined Contribution (401k, SEP, Keogh, etc...) plan with before-tax dollars that grows tax-deferred?
~ Should you invest in a Traditional IRA and/or a Traditional Roth IRA?
~ How Insurance provides a non-taxable gift to your beneficiaries and is exempt from probate?
~ Saving strategically - minimizing tax liability and taking income distributions?
~ Tax-deferred savings in an Insurance product: Whole Life (cash value, endowments & MECs) insurance and Annuities?
Saving for your home, children's education and retirement requires Tax planning. Strategic tax planning is most important when you are retired.
Tax planning reduces your annual tax liabilities and empowers you to take advantage of the opportunities that Congress encourages. In legislating the IRS Tax code Congress defines retirement plans with special tax treatment as Qualified. Non-Qualified savings plans are now taxed at historically low capital gains rates. Annuities & 529 Plans are special Non-Qualified savings programs with special tax treatment. The beneficiaries of Life insurance do not pay taxes and avoid probate.
Which business structure you choose for your business impacts how much income and equity you keep and control - as well as how much taxes you pay. Proprietorships, Partnerships & Corporations all have different advantages as well as liabilities.
Strategically, you can move stock from your Qualified plans to your Non-Qualified plans, (NUA), as well as take income before 59.5, IRS section 72(t), from your retirement accounts. New schedules lessen the impact of qualified plan distributions, MRDs after 70.5. There are ways you can move equity out of your Real Estate (1031 exchange) and into new investments - as well as between Insurance / Annuity products (1035 exchange).
Tax-efficient investing can reduce your annual tax obligations. Opportunities for interest expensing and deductible charitable donations is reported on IRS Schedule A. Interest and dividend income savings is reported on IRS Schedule B. Business expense deductions and Depreciation and Amortization (IRS Form 4562, Section 179), and Expenses for Business use of your Home (IRS Form 8829) are reported on IRS Schedule C. Strategic planning of your capital gains and loss carry-forwards is reported on IRS Schedule D.
Lastly, income/loss from rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S Corporations, REMICs, estates and trusts is reported on IRS Schedule E.
Gifting during (and beyond) your lifetime demands planning and consideration of Estate and the Generation Skipping Transfer tax.